Psilocybin and Psilocin

Psilocybin and psilocin are psychoactive compounds found in certain mushroom species, including Central American Psilocybe and US Panaeolus species. Mexican Native Americans have used these mushrooms ritually for thousands of years for their hallucinatory and psychedelic effects. In the 1980s, recreational use became popular among American adolescents. Surveys indicate 15% of American college students had used psilocybin mushrooms, compared to 5% who had used LSD. In California, 3.4% of seventh graders and 8.8% of eleventh graders reported using psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Mail-order catalogues sell spores for home cultivation. Cooking does not destroy the psychoactive compounds.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Psilocybin and psilocin are indolealkylamines present in Central American Psilocybe species of mushrooms and in Panaeolus mushroom species of the United States (3,4). For thousands of years, Mexican Native Americans have eaten Psilocybe mushrooms ritualistically for their hallucinatory and psychedelic (“mind-revealing”) properties. In the United States during the 1980s, recreational use of mush rooms became popular among adolescents (1). A survey of American college students revealed that 15% had used mushrooms compared to only 5% who had used o-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) (7). A survey in California found that psilocybin-containing mushrooms had been used by 3.4% of seventh graders and 8.8% of eleventh graders (6). Mail-order catalogues directed toward the drug culture advertise spores of various psilocybin-and psilocin-containing species that can be grown at home (3). Both Psilocybe and Panaeolus species are used to induce hallucinatory effects (1,3,5). Mushrooms are usually dried or frozen; cooking does not destroy the psychoactive compounds.